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<\/div>\nDear Dr. Inadequate,<\/p>\n
We are sorry that you and your team are enduring such a disruptive situation. Hopefully we can provide some insights and recommendations that will help you and our readers to deal with and even better prevent these difficulties in the future. <\/p>\n
If you don\u2019t mind, first some key concepts:<\/p>\n
1.\tThe Devastating Impact of a \u201cToxic\u201d Team member<\/strong><\/p>\n The behavior you are describing even exhibited by one person, unchecked can and often does create a vicious cycle on teams. Teams have a finite amount of time, energy and things they can focus on. This behavior diverts time and energy from being focused on the organizations goals. In addition, morale and motivation decreases while stress and distrust increase. As it continues unabated respect for the leadership of the organization diminishes.<\/p>\n We have advised many organizations about dealing with theses issues. Prompt, skillful action is high recommended. We have never had leaders we\u2019ve advised say \u201cI acted too soon.\u201d Many have said \u201cI waited too long.\u201d <\/p>\n 2.\tMistakes Made by Well-Intentioned, Trusting People<\/strong><\/p>\n The most likely place for a person like you are describing to take hold is in a non-profit, academic or religious organization. The reason is that people in those organizations are more likely to be idealistic, trusting and give people the benefit of the doubt. They are also often surprised when their kindness (e.g. helping her to get adjusted, introductions to faculty, and help in navigating the campus) is not only unappreciated but actually creates more of the undesirable behavior. In Survival of the Savvy we emphasize the importance of detecting deception; being able to discern who to trust and who not to trust. We need to pay attention to the early signals that people give us and remember the key principle of human relations: \u201cWe train people how to treat us.\u201d Given what we have just indicated, it is always better to either screen for some of these characteristics or notice them as soon as possible. Confronting the behavior with clear and direct feedback is fair to the person and the team. If she is someone who can change, you have given her a chance to do it. If she can\u2019t or won\u2019t change you want to find that out as soon as possible.<\/p>\n We have had some success at coaching individuals like this but only when there was the threat of consequences for not improving. However, the most benefit we had provided to organizations is to convince leaders to remove certain people from their teams. This is an example of \u201caddition by subtraction.\u201d<\/p>\n In your case it sounds like your options are somewhat limited. You didn\u2019t mention who the woman\u2019s direct supervisor is so we will give general advice.<\/p>\n It is important to document her behavior including word-for-word what she has said, who witnessed it, etc. We would also document the impact this is having on people. This information will be useful if you talk with someone in Human Resources or the Director.<\/p>\n The ideal situation would be for her supervisor to give her clear feedback about the impact of her behavior. If she is as extreme as you say, it may or may not lead to the changes you want but it is fair and a necessary step. It would also help if other people in the organization stand up to her and challenge her comments. The combination of peer pressure and seeing that people don\u2019t agree with and don\u2019t appreciate her comments may help. <\/p>\n In the end, you and your allies, or someone close to the Director, may need to clearly present the data regarding the behavior and calibrate the negative impact on the team. Thanks for writing to Office-Politics.<\/p>\n Warm regards,<\/p>\n Rick Brandon, Ph.d. and Marty Seldman, Ph.D. Co-authors,
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\n3. What to Do Now<\/strong><\/p>\n
\nSurvival of the Savvy<\/a>: High-Integrity Political Tactics for Career and Company Success<\/p>\n
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<\/a>Rick Brandon, Ph.d. and Marty Seldman, Ph.D. are Co-authors, Survival of the Savvy: High-Integrity Political Tactics for Career and Company Success. Dr. Rick Brandon is CEO of Brandon Partners. He has consulted and trained tens of thousands at corporations worldwide, including Fortune 500 companies across a variety of industries. Dr. Marty Seldman is one of America\u2019s most experienced executive coaches. His 35-year career includes expertise in executive coaching, group dynamics, cross-cultural studies, clinical psychology, and training.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"